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Pickups
This page lists the various pickups used on SGs over the years, with descriptions and audio/video clips to demonstrate. Note: 'The dates listed are the time periods when each pickup was used on SGs, not the entire production span of each pickup. P-90 (1961-Present) Pre-dating the design of the humbucker, the P-90 was Gibson's single coil pickup, created in 1946. They are significantly wider than Fender single coil pickups, and are known for a warmer tone. * AlNiCo V magnets * ~8K Ohms DCR * Black plastic covers ** Embossed Gibson logo (late 1971 - mid 1972) You can hear the tone of a P-90 on Black Sabbath's self-titled first album and their landmark sophomore album ''Paranoid, where Tony Iommi uses a 1965 SG Special. After that, he had the pickups replaced with custom wound pickups made by John Birch. P.A.F. (1960-1962) What is there to say about the P.A.F. that hasn't already been said? Designed by Seth Lover, these were only used on SGs for a short time, from 1961-1962 (and a little later on Customs, as gold-plated parts were not used up as quickly). * Humbucker * Long AlNiCo II magnets (late 1960 - mid 1961) * Short AlNiCo V magnets (mid 1961 - 1962) * ~7 - 9K Ohms DCR * 42 gauge enamel coated wire ** Purple/Brown color * Maple spacers PAT. # (1963-1965) Largely the same as the P.A.F., Pat. # humbuckers were used from 1963 until mid-1965. * Humbucker * Short AlNiCo V magnets * ~7 - 8K Ohms DCR * 42 gauge enamel coated wire ** Purple/Brown color (early 1963) ** Orange/Copper color * Maple spacers T-Top (1965-1980) Again, very similar to the previous pickup, the T-Top was so-named because of the "T" on the top of the bobbins. At this time, Gibson finally got an automatic winding machine, making the output much more consistent around 7.5K Ohms. While T-Tops were replaced on the SG Standard with Super Humbuckers in late 1972, the SG Custom kept using T-Tops until 1974, and the EDS-1275 kept using them until 1980. Late T-Tops used white plastic spacers and the same wire as Shaws. '''Note: Simply having a "T" on top of the bobbin does not make a pickup a T-Top. Gibson used these same bobbins on every pickup until 1980. * Humbucker * Short bar AlNiCo V magnets * ~7.5K Ohms DCR * 42 gauge Polyurethane insulated wire * Patent Number sticker (1965-1974) * Engraved patent number (1975-1980) * "Gibson" embossed chrome covers (late 1971 - mid 1972) * Maple spacers The sound of these pickups can be heard on later Led Zeppelin albums and every AC/DC album up to Back In Black on the right channel. Super Humbucker / "Tarback" (1972-1984) Designed by Bill Lawrence, this was the first significant redesign of the humbucker pickup since its introduction in 1957. The most significant change from the T-Top was replacing the traditional AlNiCo magnet with a ceramic magnet. Another change that affected the tone of guitars with these pickups actually had nothing to do with the pickups themselves; the potentiometers were changed to a 300K value. This darkens the tone by removing more highs. This pickup got the nickname "Tarback" because of the epoxy coating they were potted with and that could be seen on the back of the pickup. This pickup was first used on the reintroduced SG Standard in late 1972, but was not used on the SG Custom until 1975. Around 1980, the date of production was ink-stamped onto the bottom, as was done with other Gibson pickups at the time. The last Super Humbuckers were used in 1984 on SG Standards and had a white sticker with a code on it where the last two digits represented the year. * Humbucker * Indox 7 ceramic magnet * ~5.4K (neck), 7.5K (bridge) Ohms DCR * Epoxy-potted * Brass baseplate The tone of these pickups can be heard on AC/DC's Flick of the Switch album (right channel, Angus Young) and certain live performances, like this one where he uses a 1980 SG Standard: Adrian Smith of Iron Maiden uses a 1974 or 1975 SG Standard frequently in the studio and live. Velvet Brick (1979-1984) This pickup was created in 1979 and originally referred to as the "TGA Super Humbucker" but was quickly renamed the "Velvet Brick" in 1980. Its design is typically credited to Bill Lawrence. These typically use zebra bobbins, which originally still had a "T" on them, as they used the same bobbins for every pickup until new ones were designed for Shaw in 1980. These are often confused with the Sonex Deluxe pickups, which were NOT Velvet Bricks. Velvet Bricks only came in the bridge of The "SG" / Firebrand and in the neck of the Victory MV2. They were made by Schaller in West Germany and like most Gibson pickups at the time, had their production date ink-stamped on the bottom. * Humbucker * Indox 7 ceramic magnet * ~7.8K Ohms DCR * White plastic spacers * "T" on top of bobbins (1979-1980) Note: '''The Firebrand / The "SG" models also used a neck pickup that was likely just a lower output Velvet Brick. Dirty Fingers (1979-1987, 2012-2013) Introduced in 1978 as a response to Dimarzios, these were originally only featured on the SG Exclusive. It was designed with a very high output in order to drive amplifiers. The pickup was reissued in 2004, now with "Dirty Fingers" silk-screened in gold onto the top of the bobbins. * Three Ceramic magnets * ~16k Ohms D.C.R. * Balanced coils * 44-gauge enamel coated wire * Four conductor wiring * Dual adjustable polepieces * "T" on top of bobbins (1978-1980) * Engraved patent number Shaw Humbucker (1983-1988) In 1983, a new humbucker appeared on the SG Special, designed by Tim Shaw. It was first introduced in 1980 on the Les Paul Heritage models as the first attempt at recreating a PAF. They were not used on SG Standards until early/mid 1984. This marked a return to AlNiCo V magnets like were used on most 1960s SGs, at a time when '60s features were slowly returning to the SG. These pickups can be identified by the engraved patent number (like T-Tops had after 1974) and ink-stamped codes on the bottom of the pickup. They could often be found with a little black sticker on the pickup rings that said "Pat. Appl. For" in gold lettering. These pickups were phased out from 1987-1988, and SGs built in those years could have either them or The Original Humbuckers that replaced them. * Humbucker * AlNiCo V magnets (rough cast, un-oriented) * 7 - 8K Ohms D.C. resistance * White plastic spacers * Enamel coated wire The Original Humbucker / "Circuit Board" (1987-1989) Gibson re-hired Bill Lawrence to design another new humbucker, resulting in "The Original Humbucker", introduced in 1987. In Gibson catalogs, they went by a few different names, including "1959 reissue pickups" and "R-4 / L-6" pickups. They were often referred to as "Circuit Board" pickups because of the circuit board on the baseplate, which the lead wires were soldered to. This was a solution to the problem of pickups that get the lead wire cut down and require rebuilding in order to fix. With the circuit board, you can simply solder on a new lead wire very easily. Another big change with these pickups was the significantly increased output of the bridge pickup, almost 2X that of the pickups that came before it. * Humbucker * AlNiCo V magnets * ~8K (neck), 14K (bridge) Ohms D.C. resistance 490R / 490T (1990-Present) These pickups introduced 4-conductor wiring to allow coil-splitting. The name is a nod back to the original PAF's internal part code: "PU-490". * Humbucker * AlNiCo II magnets * 7-8k (490R, neck) & 8.1k (490T, bridge) Ohms D.C. resistance * Wax potted 496R * Ceramic magnet * 8.5k Ohms D.C. resistance 498T * AlNiCo V magnet * 9-13k Ohms D.C. resistance 500T * Ceramic magnet * 15.5k Ohms D.C. resistance '57 Classic (1992-Present) Designed by Tom Holmes, this pickup was introduced in 1992 as Gibson's new signature pickup, to be used in their most high-end models. It was yet another attempt at recreating the PAF, adding Maple spacers this time. * Humbucker * AlNiCo II magnets * 7.5 - 8.3K Ohms D.C. resistance * Wax-potted * Balanced coils * Maple spacer * 42 gauge wire ** Enamel coated (1992-2005) ** Polyester coated (2006-Present) '57 Classic Plus (2007-Present) * 8.5K Ohms D.C. resistance Super '57 (2018-Present) Same as '57 Classic Plus but with 4-conductor wiring for coil split capability. Burstbucker (2006-Present) The Burstbucker was introduced in 2000 as the latest PAF replica (but not offered on an SG until 2006). A unique feature to these is the unmatched coil winds, as original PAFs were wound by hand and not always perfectly matched in the number of winds per coil. It is said that this brings out a more single-coil tonal quality. Early examples were not wax-potted, as PAFs were originally, but Gibson later began lightly wax-potting them because of feedback complaints. * Humbucker * AlNiCo II magnets (un-polished) * 6.5k (I, neck) & 7k (II, bridge) Ohms DCR * Wax-potted * Un-balanced coils * 42 gauge enamel coated wire * Maple spacers Burstbucker III Same as Burstbucker I & II but with a 7.5k output. Burstbucker Pro * AlNiCo V magnets (un-polished) * 7.5k (neck) & 8.2k (bridge) Ohms DCR Burstbucker '61 R/T (2018-Present) This pickup essentially takes a Burstbucker Pro and flips it around, with the opposite coil being the dominant one (because they are mismatched). * AlNiCo V magnets (un-polished) * 7.74k (neck) & 8.0k (bridge) Ohms DCR Custombucker (2013-Present) * Humbucker * AlNiCo III magnets * ~8k Ohms DCR * Maple spacers * 42 gauge enamel coated wire Angus Young Signature Created for the 2000 Angus Young Signature SG, this pickup appears to be based on either the 490T or '57 Classic with a very high D.C. resistance and was only made for bridge position applications. It also uses thicker than usual wire for a hotter output. In the AY Signature SG, this pickup came with standard 2-conductor wiring, but when purchased separately from Gibson, it comes with 4-conductor wiring. '''Note: Not all examples have identifying sticker on underside. * AlNiCo V magnets * 9 - 14k Ohms DCR * Balanced coils * 43 gauge enamel coated wire * Double wax-potted T-Type These pickups were made for a limited run model exclusive to Chicago music Exchange called the SG Standard T-Type. They are a replica of T-Tops. * AlNiCo V magnets * 7.45k ohms D.C.R. * Polyurethane insulated wire